The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1887-06-03
THE CITY BUILDING.
The New System of Drainage Now
Being Introduced.
something About the Place Where
the Pipes are Laid.

Under the City Building, or at least be-
meath the greater part of it, is a sub-cellar,
varying in height from two and one-half to
four feet, and cut up into numerous rooms
by the thick foundation walls, running at
right angles with each other The areas in
the sidewalks on Myrtle and Congress streets
afford a glimmer of light in their immediate
neighborhood, and little daylight also finds
its way down through the gratings placed in
the corridors of the lower story. The floor
of this cellar is formed by the ground and a
covering Of broken brick ard stones. Over
head the steam pipes run in all directions be
meath the brick arches or the beams support
ing the floors above. just at present the
rats, which live in the cellar in vast numbers
have been disturbed by the men who are
putting in the pipes of the new Durham sys-
TEN of drainage. Ordinarily, Mr.. Cook, the
engineer, and his assistant, are the only
persons who ever crawl through the pas
sages of the cellar Mr.. Cook, however,
spends more or less time here nearly every
day in the year, sometimes working for hours
at time, on the steam pipes. Mr.. Cook is
thoroughly familiar with ever nook and cor
ner of the place and the work of laying
the new pipes is being done under his direc-
ton.
A visit to this sub-cellar is an interesting
experience, but one visit is quite enough to
satisfy the curiosity of the explorer. For
great part of the distance it is necessary to
crawl on hands and knees. When there is
any steam in the pipes overhead, the temper
ature is somewhere in the vicinity of 100 de-
grees, even in the coolest winter days. The
sharp stones and pieces of brick make the
trip painful as well as novel. A small kero-
sene lamp serves to make the surroundings
visible, and shows the great stone walls with
their openings into the surrounding dark
ness. These openings through which it is
necessary to crawl are none too large and
their sides are anything but smooth. But
everywhere the steam pipes will be seen and
in fact the passage in which most of them
run, and where the engineer is oftenest
called to attend to them, is just high enough
for man to crawl through.
The new drainage pipes are laid a few
Inches above the ground. One main pipe ex-
tends from a point beneath the Mayors
office back under the rooms on the MYRTLE
street side and leaves the building through
the rear wall at point beneath the City
Marshals room. From this main, branch
extends beneath the front of the building to
she county side. Another branch leaves the
main beneath the ward room and connects
with the water closets opening from the cor
rldors In the first and second stories on the
city SIDE. A pipe also connects this branch
with the room where seized liquors are
spilled.
hecloSets in the rear portion of the
county wing are connected with the sewer
by another main pipe which is carried under
the court yard, and beneath the police sta
tlon TO the rear wall. 1t then turns and runs
paIailei with the wall to the opening through
which the other main passes These main
pipes have no connection with each other.
but leave the building side by side. The
latter is connected with the police rooms, the
cell room and the library water closet. All
the standing pipes in this system are carried
up above the highest point of the roof to
secure proper ventilation. The pipes them.
selves are OF wrought iron, and are screwed
into joints OF the same material. They are
SIX, I'VE and four inches in diameter, and
provided with plugs at frequent intervals to
allow them to be kept free from obstruction.
The work Of putting the pipes in place will
be done by the Durham company who are
represented by Mr.. Beasley, the foreman in
charge. Inc remainder OF the work will be
done by w. III. Pennell
The conductors on the front and MYRTLE
street side Of the building will be connected
with the new drainage system. The over
HOW from the battery of the fire alarm sys-
TEN VIII be carried into the sewer through
lead pipe entirely independent from theioth-
ers. The chemical matter from the overflow
will be provided for by a catch basin in the
lower story. A cess pool in the sub-cellar
has previously been used for this purpose.
Tho old system of sewers is buried in the
ground beneath the sub-cellar, Its bad con-
dition is, evident from the appearance Of GER
tam parts OF the ground beneath the build
ing. There are also some other things TO
be done away with. Beneath the police sta
ton is an old well filled with stagnant water.
and under the cell room the water has col,
inches.
Mr.. Cook says that it will soon be necessary
to renew and replace much of the steam pip
ing and also the boilers. In that event he
recommends erecting boiler house in the
rear of the building. The new pipes could
then be mostly carried through the corridors
in the lower story Of the building instead of
In the sub-cellar. The erection Of the boiler
house would also do away with the storage
and handling of the coal in the cellar direct